Intel is building out a large call-center operation internally dubbed “Audience Care” for the launch of an Internet television service targeted for later this year — a first for the chip giant, which has never had a direct-to-consumer business before.

As the company tries to woo customers away from their current cable or satellite TV provider, customer service stands to be a critical piece of the equation. That’s especially true because Intel won’t have technicians in the field to troubleshoot problems customers will encounter.

“As you’d expect we will scale that substantially before we launch,” he said, through both direct hiring and with third-party providers.

Intel Media is using Salesforce.com’s web-based customer service application as well as Avaya’s call-center telecommunications system, according to job listings on its site. Company also is using Bugzilla, an open-source software bug-tracking and testing tool.

The Audience Care operation is run out of Intel’s headquarters Santa Clara, Calif., and another U.S. location “which we’ll share closer to launch,” he added.

Intel Media, headed by former BBC exec Erik Huggers, still aims to launch the Internet TV service this fall. But huge wildcard remains whether it can sign a critical mass of big-name programmers to stock the lineup with content, and delays could push the debut into 2014.

Open positions include three studio account managers, based in Santa Monica, Calif., who will manage day-to-day relationships with major and indie film studios for transactional video-on-demand and electronic sell-through content.

In addition, the unit is looking to hire a social media manager, who will run promotional campaigns across Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Flickr, blogs and other sites. The social media manager will be responsible for cultivating “brand fans and celebrity” strategies.